The Willow Glen Resident

Officials say standardized tests set unfair standards

Factors ignored in comparing districts

By Christine Frey

The 1998 Standardized Testing and Reporting exam was designed to let parents and educators see how their schools fare against others across the country. But some local school officials say these comparisons lead to an "apples vs. oranges" situation.

According to spokesperson Maureen Munroe, a large urban school district such as San Jose Unified has more factors influencing its student population than districts in other areas, such as higher percentages of low-income families, children with limited English proficiency and students with special needs. When compared to smaller districts with higher median-income levels, Munroe said, the SJUSD's test scores may not accurately reflect the performance of local schools.

Between 500,000 and 600,000 students nationwide took the STAR exam in the spring and fall of 1995; their scores were averaged to create the national average. The scores of each California school were given a ranking based on how they compared to the national average. These test results were released last month.

Munroe said the makeup of the testing group was not comparable to that of the SJUSD and therefore skews the district's scores. "That norming group is not the norm for us," she said.

But despite the discrepancy, schools in the district still "fared well," Munroe said. Without the inclusion of LEP scores, SJUSD is at the national average, and Santa Clara County students in grades 2-8 scored 10 points higher than the average student nationally. With the inclusion of LEP scores, the SJUSD still ranks above the state average.

During the 1997-98 school year, the STAR program administered the Standard 9 achievement test to schools statewide--the first test all California students had been required to take in four years. Students in grades 2-8 were tested in reading, mathematics, language (written expression) and spelling. With the exception of spelling, students in grades 9-11 were tested in those subjects as well as science and social science.

However, according to Mary Alvord, the manager of evaluation and research at the Santa Clara County Office of Education, the previous test the state used--the California Learning Assessment System--was a more accurate indicator of a school's progress. That test compared school districts and counties to others with similar makeups.

Both Munroe and Alvord expressed hope that the Stanford 9 is modified before next year's testing in order to make it more applicable to the testing population. Alvord said she would like the test to include an evaluation, such as a written essay, which would provide a more well-rounded assessment of students' skills than the current multiple-choice test.

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